In honor of Father’s Day, I’m dedicating this post to my dad, Keith Satter. I was fortunate to grow-up with supportive and engaged parents. Dad taught me many lessons that I find myself returning to as I continue to advance in my career. My dad continues to be a strong role model for me. And I’m very grateful that I have such a person in my life. Below are few of the lessons he taught me.
- Try to do your best: It’s not always possible to be successful in what we do. However, I try to put in the time and energy to do the best job I can. I’ve found that this behavior encourages myself and others to try new things and take risks.
- Don’t take yourself too seriously: I strongly believe in the work of academic libraries to help foster and create new knowledge, and to make that content available to the public. However, there are times when I get too bogged down in the nitty gritty of a particular decision or process, and it’s helpful to remind myself of this concept.
- The world doesn’t revolve around you: It can be all too easy to forget about the many people who have helped foster our success. Writing thank you notes, taking the time to show people we value them, in our work and personal lives, helps to ensure that we have a network of support.
- Life’s not always fair: As someone who holds fairness as a core value, this is a tough one for me. I often think there should be a right answer to a problem. As an administrator most of my work is neither black and white, but more like gray. Treating everyone fairly is certainly something I strive for. But recognizing that not all decisions I make or that impact me will meet my standards of fairness is a challenge.
- Speak up: I’m an introvert, and for me that means I need down-time to recharge myself to then be able to advocate for myself and my team. As a kid, my dad often had to push me to speak up for myself, when faced with challenging situations at school or with my friends. I return to those memories when faced with a situation where I know I need to speak up.
- Plan for the future you want: One of my favorite activities that Dad and I did when I was growing up was to take long walks together. We’d talk about upcoming tests or events at school. As I grew older we talked about what colleges I was applying to. And later as I moved away, we talked about my plans to study abroad and how my research was going. I’m incredibly grateful to have had a father who supported me and my dreams, and who encouraged me to plan for the future I wanted.
For these and many other life lessons, thank you Dad!